Meet Latoya Lain | Song Writer

We had the good fortune of connecting with Latoya Lain and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Latoya, what’s something about your industry that outsiders are probably unaware of?
The Politics! It gets real heavy. Especially when your a new artist and you begin to get a little buzz. The people you start out with start falling off one by one. I grew up in the 90’s / early 2000’s in San Francisco Hunter Point. The Hood! Where the same neighbors you let borrow sugar. Will run through your shit. But yet, I’ve lost more trust in people being apart of the industry. The Greed for fame and riches create walking breathing monsters.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
I actually had a whole different vision for myself professionally. Never thought of myself as an Artist. Well, at least not professionally. I was already doing well professionally. Worked in the medical field also owned a thriving online clothing store. Which afforded me my first home purchase in Roseville Ca. Way different living from what I was accustomed to. However I was growing antsy with trying to figure out my next move. I wasn’t content at all in way of settle in. I started to direct my focus/energy towards going back to school to further my medical education. At that same time, I started going through extreme insomnia. I would go to bed midnight and be up 3am EVERY NIGHT! Unable to go back to sleep, I stopped laying in bed staring at the ceiling and started going on car rides. I try to listen to radio and/or shit I downloaded from other Artists who I love. But it was something about those drives in which I couldn’t vibe that shit the same at that particular time as well. I then started riding in silence where my thought process would be everywhere but brought me back to remembering when I went through bad insomnia like 10years prior. I turned back to music. I recorded multiple tracks because it helped! Not with the insomnia lol. I was still up like a mf. But it helped with organizing my mind. I didn’t feel so scattered with discontentment. So I searched for tracks cause I was curious to hear them again. I never shared them with people at that time they were just for personal hobby and I hadn’t heard them in years as well. I felt a since of being refocused when I heard them and strong desire to see what I was like now. So the rides became me listening to instrumentals. I wrote a track the end of 2019 called “To Be Me” on my 3am bender “car ride”. My boyfriend at the time heard it at was shocked. He encouraged me to let people hear it. He believed in it so much he wanted to put money behind it. So I was like fucc it. Called up the homie and asked if he’d be free to shoot the video on MLK day. It’s a very politically driven song. He was down so we shot the video and my boyfriend didn’t end up putting money behind it lol but locally people kept telling me I sleepying on myself. A local promoter that put a tour on for JStone who believed in me gave me slots to hop on that tour once they hit NorCal. Which made me get back into the studio to build a bigger catalog. First show I was suppose to perform at, Covid shut the world down. Everyone canceled. Months later George Floyd is murdered. We know how the world stoodup. My track “To Be Me” is already there. The videographer who’s well known locally. Started putting that track behind his videos of peaceful protesting. It ended up being used by local News outlets when they were painting the streets “Black Lives Matter” kings players were hitting me, all kinds of local shit happened for me. So I started taking music seriously. Met Lil Eazy E shortly after. He became my Mgr and I became The First Lady of his lable, Rich&Ruthless

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
First stop would be out of Sacramento, lol. Sac it’s not you it’s me. I’ve lived out here for years now and it’s always felt like it a temporary thing. Roseville/Sac is cool, so many nice, friendly ppl. It just Im a city girl! I feel home almost any progressive city I go to. I’m a Big Time Foodie so we headed to the Bay for some good seafood or a fire burrito. I’m happy eating.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
I definitely have to give much credit to son of the legendary Eazy E, Lil Eazy E. Outside of being a huge backing support system. He has been a driving force for me to step outside of only song writing and show the people my personal Artistry as well.

Website: www.Toytoylain.com also www.richandruthless.com

Instagram: Toytoylain

Linkedin: https://linktr.ee/LatoyaLain

Twitter: Lainlatoya

Facebook: LatoyaLain

Youtube: Latoyalain1682 also Rich&Ruthless

Image Credits
Eric Wright aka Lil Eazy E